Demonguard
by ChocolateStrawbs
Summary: Elsa expected to spend her eighteenth birthday just like any other. However, when she mysteriously appears in a strange kingdom with a redhead she's never met, her life takes a strange turn. [Demon Hunter AU, Elsanna]
1. Chapter 1

_Hi! Welcome to my first ever substantial piece of written work that I've ever released online, I hope you like it and would love to hear what you think so far; constructive criticism would be awesome, I'd love to improve my writing (go easy on me, please, I'm new to this)._

 _Obviously if the pairing isn't your cup of tea, now's the time to turn back._

 _Rated T for fantastical_ _violence_

 _Disclaimer:(do we actually have to put these?) I own nothing, obviously._

* * *

It happened on Elsa's eighteenth birthday.

One might have expected that the eighteenth birthday of the crown princess of Arendelle would be a grandiose affair, celebrated by all peoples, all across the kingdom. However – in a palace rife with paranoia and fear that the princess's... 'peculiarity' might be discovered by a potentially unwelcoming kingdom – the celebration of Princess Elsa's birthday was a small celebration within the royal palace, with only close family in attendance; Elsa could never get close enough to someone who wasn't part of the palace staff to befriend them.

The day passed without incident until the evening, as Elsa sat in the drawing room with her parents; Elsa felt a strange tingling sensation in her hands and wrists. She instantly knew there was something off about it; it was not like the tingling of feeling returning to a numb limb, it was more... subdued, yet somehow it still demanded her attention. Fearing that it was happening as a result of her powers, Elsa cautiously removed her left glove.

Elsa's stomach dropped.

A blue symbol, formed of intricate lines and swirls, was glowing faintly on her wrist. Panic rose in her, along with the realisation that she _recognised_ the strange symbol somehow.

Noticing her distress, the King spoke, "Elsa, are you alright?"

Quickly hiding her wrist, Elsa looked up, panicked. "Y-yes, just tired is all," She lied unconvincingly, "I think I'm going to go to bed. Thank you for my birthday presents." Before either the King or Queen could say anything, Elsa hurried off to her room.

Elsa leaned against the door as it shut behind her, hoping that her parents didn't come after her; they didn't need to worry as long as she could find out how to _conceal_ it.

After a few moments of panicked silence with no noise from the hallway, Elsa was reassured that the King and Queen wouldn't fearfully burst in. Remembering her problem, the blonde quickly removed her other glove, her hysteria rising at the sight of another – identical – symbol on her right wrist; to make matters worse, Elsa _swore_ that the symbols were glowing brighter than they were before.

Pacing the room to try and think of a solution – or explanation – to her problem, the blonde failed to notice the room temperature dropping; frost forming underfoot and creeping slowly across the floor. She only realised that something was amiss when the tingling sensation intensified; she looked to her wrists which were _definitely_ glowing brighter than earlier and she could see her breath condensing, the frost that was now creeping up the walls – her fear and panic manifesting itself, overwhelming her. However, her inner turmoil wasn't escalating at the sight as she might have expected, instead – much in the same way Elsa imagined a drowning person came to terms with their fate – an unnaturally resigned peace settled her erratic mind.

The frost halted its journey up the walls. A blue light enveloped Elsa.

And the Crown Princess of Arendelle vanished.

* * *

As her vision returned after being temporarily blinded by the mysterious blue light, Elsa knew one thing for certain.

She wasn't in her room anymore.

In fact – judging by the warmer climate and distinctively different architecture of the buildings around her – she wasn't in the same _kingdom_ anymore.

She was stood in what appeared to be a – currently empty – town square, not three feet away from a redhead that looked almost as out-of-place than she did; dressed in an armoured leather tunic and armed with a bow, a sword and a plethora of small blades strapped to her person.

With Elsa too busy being shocked by the sudden re-location to panic, the redhead turned to her, a look of surprise crossing her face. The two locked eyes, the princess stunned by the other woman; her copper hair tied in two plaits, adorable freckles dotting her skin and beautiful teal eyes that were gazing into her own blue ones.

Breaking their eye contact, the redhead addressed her with thinly veiled excitement, "Um... Hi! This is your first time, right?" She offered her hand, "I'm Anna."

Foregoing the handshake – in part because of her confusion and another because she'd lost her gloves – Elsa met Anna's gaze with one of befuddlement, did she know something about her sudden appearance here? But, before she could reply, the redhead brought her hand to her head in exasperation.

"Duh, of course, you don't know what I'm talking about, do you? Sorry, you probably don't know what's going on and why you randomly appeared here and now here I am expecting you to know what I'm talking about and freaking you out more." Anna took a breath, "And now I'm rambling, so you probably think I'm weird." The redhead huffed then looked at the blonde with a smile, "What's your name?"

Despite her confusion and lingering shock over the current situation, Elsa couldn't help but find Anna's endearing actions reassuring. Offering a cautious smile, the princess replied, "I'm Elsa."

Th redhead's smile grew. "Nice to meet you Elsa, you have a beautiful name" Anna said, offering her hand again, an action that caused the blonde to look visibly panicked.

Looking away, Elsa's voice turned meek, "Sorry, I-I have a... I'm not good with contact." The blonde looked back to Anna with a flustered yet apologetic look. A look of hurt crossed the redhead's face temporarily, before quickly passing through a look of understanding and settling on a knowing one with a hint of suspicion; withdrawing her hand in the process.

Mentally scalding herself for making the situation awkward, Elsa quickly changed the topic; "How did you know that I appeared here?"

Anna jumped to attention. "Right! Well, how do I put this..." Anna scratched her head, casting a glance towards the symbols on Elsa's wrist; the same symbol – Elsa noticed – that adorned the redhead's outfit. "So I'm a-"

Anna was cut off by a loud roar unlike anything that Elsa had ever heard.

The redhead turned towards the sound instantly, drawing her bow and nocking and arrow. "Elsa, I need you to stay back; I have to deal with this, then I can explain what's going on, but just try not to panic, okay?"

Elsa nodded despite the redhead not being able to see her, but Anna clearly wasn't waiting for an answer as she moved towards the centre of the town square. Heeding her words, the blonde moved to the edge of the square, watching Anna carefully.

A beat passed. Fear coursed through Elsa's body. Anna readied her bow. As if waiting for her to do just that, another – louder – roar sounded just around the corner, shortly followed a gargantuan beast, the likes of which Elsa thought only existed in nightmares; It was at least ten-foot-tall, a bipedal creature with red skin, gnarled face, long black horns, intimidating black claws and a barbed tail.

With near-inhuman speed, Anna unleased a torrent of arrows at the demonic beast, striking its limbs and torso; it's face protected by its large hands.

The arrows seemed to barely injure the beast; it roared with rage, eyes locking onto Anna, rearing back ready to charge.

Anna replaced her bow on her back as the beast started its charge. Drawing her sword, Anna side stepped at almost the last moment, swiping at the beast's leg as it barrelled past, eliciting a pained roar from it as it stumbled from the damage.

Taking a few steps back from the beast, Anna held her sword in front of her and cast Elsa a reassuring – almost cocky – look.

Recovering from its stumble, the beast turned on the redheaded warrior, and threw a nearby bench at her, which she swiftly jumped out of the way of.

Enraged by Anna's evasiveness, the beast charged again holding its body closer to the ground to try and protect its legs.

Instead of repeating her previous move, Anna instead grabbed its upper arm as it passed, using the momentum to pull herself onto its back.

The beast reacted quickly, swiping blindly behind its back, in a futile attempt to get the nimble redhead off; any swipe she couldn't avoid was deflected by her blade.

In its struggle, the beast finally noticed Elsa standing off to the side; realising it would have to change its tact to remove Anna, it charged for Elsa.

Elsa, who was frozen in place with terror.

As the beast started the advance, Anna realised what was going on and scrambled up to grab its horns, pulling them sharply to the side in an attempt to divert its course. However, as that plan proved ineffective the warrior readied her sword to plunge it into the beast's neck, Elsa coming ever closer.

Mere seconds before the beast struck her, Elsa squeezed her eyes shut raising her hands; all the pent up fear and panic from today and every day that she had feared the extent of her power, all of her inner turmoil fuelled a great burst of power that shot into the floor in front of her, a wall of ice sprouting from the point of impact, blocking the beast's path.

The beast barely had time to register the wall before it slammed into it, a crack forming in the smooth surface. Anna – still being propelled forward by the momentum of the charging beast – aimed her sword at the last second, using the momentum to drive the sword through the beast's neck. Killing it.

Her moment of triumph lasted mere milliseconds, however, as she followed the beast in slamming into the wall – albeit at a slightly slower speed – before tumbling to the floor next to the fallen monster.

Elsa, having not seen what had just happened, wondered briefly why she was still alive before opening her eyes to the chaos before her. Her surprise was short-lived, however, upon noticing Anna fallen to the side of the beast.

Jumping into action, Elsa ran to the redhead and dropped to her knees, calling her name.

"I'm- ow," The dazed redhead croaked out, raising her hand to her head. "I'm fine, just a bit bruised."

Anna sat up and smiled Elsa, "Nice work with that wall; I had a hunch that you had elemental powers, with the whole 'no contact' thing."

Elsa recoiled.

"Wha-?... T-There are more people like me?" She asked tentatively, "and they can't control their powers either?"

Anna rose to her feet. "Many can't at first, but we have experienced mentors who've managed to help everyone that's been sent their way."

Anna beamed proudly, before once again realising that Elsa had no idea what she was talking about. "Sorry, I still haven't told you what's going on." Anna pointed to a bench that hadn't been destroyed, tucked away under a tree. "But first, lets sit down; this is gonna be a lot to take in, not to mention people are gonna come and find out what was going on once they realise it's safe again."

The two moved to the bench – Anna making a brief detour to retrieve and clean her sword – and sat; Anna sitting comfortably while Elsa sat straight-backed, with her hands tucked into her lap; though relieved that the redhead seemed to be okay with her powers, the princess was still unsure what to think about her. They turned to each other, Elsa looking expectantly at the redhead, while Anna met her eyes with a smile. A moment passed, and Anna seemed to catch herself, realising that the blonde was waiting for an explanation.

"Right..." The redhead began slowly. "As you can probably tell, I'm not from around here; I appeared here just like you did, after those blue symbols appeared on your wrists." At the blonde's alarmed look, Anna quickly pulled down her sleeves, showing her wrists to the other woman. Though they weren't glowing, the same symbol marred the redhead's wrists. "The symbol is the seal of the Demonguard, an order of demon hunters who protect this plane of existence from... well, demons." Anna puffed up with pride, "I'm one of them; we live in a sanctuary, isolated from the world and when we're needed to slay a demon, our wrists start to glow and vibrate, and we appear where we're needed."

In any other situation, Elsa would think the other woman was insane, but with all the strange and terrifying things to had happened today, she had little choice than to accept the redhead's explanation. Even if that explanation probably raised more questions than it answered. One question, however, stood out above the rest.

"If the symbol only appears on demon hunter's wrists, why is it on mine?"

Anna grimaced at the question but didn't seem shocked that it had been asked.

"You see... The Demonguard doesn't actually recruit members..." She looked away from the blonde; avoiding her gaze. "...they're born into it – that is – we're born and raised normally, but anytime between the age of sixteen and eighteen we, well... appear at the sight of a demon attack with our future hunting partner." Anna rushed out the last part, looking cautiously towards the blonde; bracing for an outburst.

However – to Anna's temporary relief – Elsa simply stayed quiet for a moment, before a look of shock crossed her features as she connected the dots.

For what felt like the hundredth time today, panic rose in the blonde. "So I'm supposed to be a demon hunter?" Elsa asked, incredulously. "Wha-I... But I don't even know anything about fighting or combat, I could never do something like you just did!"

Anna's earlier relief forgotten, she tried to reassure the blonde. "That's not true! You did better than most people on their first day; when I was in your position, I was so scared I couldn't move for the whole fight."

Elsa was shocked by Anna's apparent faith in her abilities – a shock which served to stop the blonde's further arguments long enough for Anna to elaborate.

"It's not just that! We're all better suited for this than normal people," the redhead looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, no one's really _normal_ I suppose, but-" Anna quickly straightened, as if jolting herself back on topic, "Anyway! You know what I meant by that!" She took a deep breath before continuing, "What I'm trying to say is, we're stronger, faster, have better reaction times and have this really weird innate ability to pick up combat skills really fast. Like, not master them, but; well, most of us are pretty decent in our chosen fighting method after a week, even if they'd never touched a weapon before."

Being the recluse that she was – and a princess on top of that – Elsa had few experiences by which she could judge the truth of the redhead's words. But, she remembered one time, when she was sixteen, she'd managed to convince her father to let her train with a sword – only once; he'd been amazed at her natural instincts with the blade. However, Elsa had just dismissed it as him being kind; at Anna's words, she could not help but think that he might have been genuinely surprised.

"We never know why we're picked," Anna spoke, pulling Elsa out of her thoughts, "we just are." The redhead spoke softly, but with a wistful conviction that enraptured the blonde. "We don't get any choice and we don't know who chose us, but if we didn't do this then those demons would destroy this world." Anna perked up slightly, sending the blonde a smile, "plus, our sanctuary is pretty great; we can live a pretty good life between missions."

A silence settled over the two as the town re-awoke around them. Sheltered from prying eyes, they could see the townsfolk gaze upon the fallen beast; some were even trying to go about their ordinary lives. Having been isolated from the common folk of her kingdom, Elsa enjoyed watching the people go about their day.

Elsa broke the comfortable silence with a question.

"You said that when we arrive at our first demon attack it's with our partner?"

Anna turned back towards the blonde. "Yeah, well, you can opt to switch partner if you really want to, but I don't know of anyone ever doing it. I guess whoever or whatever chooses us for the job is also really good at picking people's partners."

Elsa simply nodded, again opting for silence to digest her thoughts.

Elsa was baffled by the knowledge of this world that she didn't even know existed and the threats that this world introduced; She didn't want to become a demon hunter – despite the redhead's earlier reassurances – she _couldn't_ do it.

But, as the voice in her head bitterly reminded her, she didn't have a choice.

The silence was once again broken by Anna, her concern for the other woman winning out against the part of her that wanted to leave her to digest all that's happened undisturbed. "I know this is all a lot to take in," she sent the blonde a sympathetic smile as she met her gaze, "are you gonna be alright?"

Elsa considered this. Was she going to be alright? She hadn't panicked, the immediate area hadn't frozen, but that didn't mean the princess was happy with the situation she found herself in. Though, it wasn't like she had a choice anyway and – even though she very much doubted her ability to actually be an effective demon hunter – at least she'd be doing something good and beneficial to the world.

Elsa returned Anna's smile with a tentative one. "I... I think so."

The redhead's smile grew. Though, as she went to speak, she was distracted by the same blue glow from earlier.

Elsa visibly remained calm, though her heart rate spiked. Anna turned to her.

"Are you ready?" Anna asked, "we can go to our sanctuary now, or we can wait stay here for a while longer, whatever you think is best."

Not for the first time, a warmth spread through the princess at the redhead's thoughtfulness. "I'm ready," she replied, a subtle determination in her voice.

"Alright," the redhead spoke, "Just touch the symbols on your wrists together and you'll be transported there. Like this." Anna then pressed the insides of her wrists together and disappeared in a flash of blue light. Momentarily awed, Elsa quickly mimicked the action, the same blue light blinding her.

* * *

 _Hope you liked it so far, the next few parts (It'll probably end up being just under 15k words) will be uploaded eventually; it's mostly written, just need to finish it off and edit it. I'd love to hear what you thought!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Here's the next chapter! Thank you so much for your kind reviews, I hope you find this chapter as enjoyable!_

* * *

As the light faded and Elsa's vision returned, she took in her new surroundings. They stood in an empty room, lit only by the blue markings on the walls, floor and ceiling.

The redhead turned to her, a warm grin on her face. "Come on, let's get you settled in."

The next hour passed with Anna giving the princess a tour of the Demonguard Sanctuary, while also being greeted by more people than she could possibly remember; apparently it was obvious that she was new. The room they arrived in opened directly into a large common room filled with many demon hunters enjoying their down time, various activities and games were present, including – Elsa noted with delight – multiple chess boards.

Next, they went outside; the sanctuary occupied a lush green island, with beautiful views of the surrounding sea – Anna claimed the sea could not be crossed as it was not a real sea but the representation of the barrier between the sanctuary and the real world – the sanctuary itself consisted of multiple buildings with farmland lying to the north, a picturesque forest to the east, plains to the west and the sea to the south; which the common building overlooked.

Anna then took her round the other buildings; the infirmary sat next to the common building – so injured people could be brought there quickly after arrival. Next, was the training grounds, they were large, divided up into various different sections for training in different forms of combat, Anna even pointed out someone else with powers similar to hers training; their mastery of fire evident in their every move. Attached to the training grounds building, there was the armoury, hosting every type of weapon Elsa could think of and then some. Opposite the common building were the residential buildings, large enough to comfortably house everyone that lived here. Adjacent to that was the food hall and kitchens and lastly, there was the library and research building.

Upon entering the library, Anna noticed the blonde beside her visibly light up; the library was massive, shelves upon shelves of books, of all genres, of any subject. Elsa realised that the library was easily larger than Arendelle castle's.

Arendelle...

The blonde's face fell. In the excitement of the day and with everything that had happened, Elsa's mind had only just registered thoughts of her parents. What did they think happened to her? Would she ever be able to see them again? When Anna noticed the blonde's sudden change in mood, she asked that very question.

"Will I ever get to see my parents again?"

At the sound of the question, Elsa's voice so small and hurt, Anna felt her heart break. The look on Anna's face was the only answer that the princess needed; tears pooled in her eyes and a sob wracked her body, her knees turning weak.

Anna caught her before she could fall and guided her to a nearby sofa, she sat beside the crying girl, wanting to put a comforting arm around her shoulder but deciding against it – not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry," Anna spoke feebly, not knowing what else to say. "It sucks, I know, leaving behind everyone you know – not being able to see them again, not being able to tell them you're okay." Anna risked putting her hand on Elsa's shoulder, "It's lonely. Even with everyone here, you can feel isolated from everyone else." Elsa looked towards the redhead who sent her a smile in return, and a look that told her that Anna was speaking from experience. "But, though this may not mean much, if you need someone to talk to, or you need help; you can always ask me."

The redhead's kindness floored the blonde. "Really?"

"Of course!" Anna didn't miss a beat, "partners look after each other and so do – hopefully – friends." Anna paused and frowned at what she'd just said, "What I meant was, hopefully we can be friends, too..." She finished, a blush settled on her freckled cheeks.

Elsa giggled at the redhead's awkwardness, despite the tears that continued to fall. "Friends... I'd like that."

* * *

The two remained sat in the library while Elsa came to terms with not seeing her parents again. Anna tried a few more times to comfort the stricken woman, but mostly left her in silence with a comforting hand on her shoulder; she'd asked if she'd rather be left alone, but the blonde had said she would rather have the company – not wanting to be alone in an unfamiliar place.

By no means recovered, but at least coping with the loss, Elsa insisted that Anna continue the tour. However, the redhead simply insisted that everywhere important had been covered and all that was left for today was a return the armoury to get the princess a uniform fitted – while Anna arranged some things – and for her to show Elsa her room.

The fitting passed quickly as a kind man and woman – who she assumed were the tailors – quickly found a uniform that fit with minor adjustments, Anna only briefly disappearing for a few minutes during.

From there, Anna led the princess into one of the housing buildings to her room.

"Alright, this is your room!" Anna exclaimed with a grin, handing Elsa the keys. "Do you wanna look?" she continued with childlike excitement.

Elsa smiled at the redhead's genuine excitement to see a room that was likely identical to her own – which was next door – and unlocked the door.

The room was larger than she was expecting, though still smaller than her room at Arendelle castle. The room was rectangular; with a bed against the left wall, a desk opposite which sat next to the wardrobe, a cabinet also sat underneath the window, which was opposite the door. It had charm in its simplistic design, Elsa thought.

Anna, who was buzzing impatiently beside her as she assessed the room, looked to the blonde curiously. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, it's nice."

"Good, I'm glad."

Anna turned to Elsa. "So, what do you want to do now? We can go get dinner, or do something in the common room? Oh, I should introduce you to my friends! ...Or if you want to be alone, we can talk later...?" Anna gazed hopefully towards her, hoping to spend more time with the blonde but not wanting to overwhelm her.

Part of Elsa wanted to stay in her room and brood over the loss of contact with her parents, but she knew that dwelling on it would only make her feel worse, and one look at the redhead's face left her unable to deny her.

"I noticed a chess set in the common room...?"

* * *

The two were in the middle of a game of chess – which Elsa was winning – when a shout interrupted them.

"Anna!"

Both women turned their heads to see a muscular blonde man walking up to them, followed by a shorter, black haired, man and a... reindeer?

"Who's your new friend?" The blonde man asked once they had stopped at their table, gesturing to the blonde woman.

"Hi guys!" Anna welcomed them warmly, "This is Elsa, she's my new partner." She turned to her, "Elsa, this is Kristoff," she gestured to the blonde man, "Olaf," she gestured towards the shorter man, "and Sven." She finished gesturing towards the reindeer.

"Nice to meant you all," Elsa spoke formally, offering a smile while the two men waved in greeting.

Kristoff smirked, "A newbie, eh? How was your first time facing a demon?

Before Elsa could think up a response, Anna cut in, "She was great! She managed to stop it with an ice wall!" She then turned to Elsa, "Most people don't do anything their first time, we're usually too scared; you were great." The princess blushed at the compliment.

Kristoff looked between the two women with mischievous glint in his eye, before setting his gaze on Elsa. "Ice powers, huh? That's pretty cool," Anna and Olaf groaned at the pun, Sven rolled his eyes. Olaf butted in, "Can we see them? I bet you can make all sorts of amazing things!"

A worried look crossed the princess' face at that. "I... I don't know, I-I can't really control them very well..."

"Don't worry," said Anna, shooting her a reassuring smile, "like I said; we've got the best mentors here, you'll have the hang of them in no time!"

Elsa couldn't help but smile at the redhead's optimism, despite her own doubts. She hoped she was right.

* * *

Elsa spent the rest of her day in the company of Anna and her friends. Though she got along with them all, she couldn't help but be jealous of the friendliness and familiarity that had towards each other; something she never had growing up isolated.

She learned that that Kristoff and Sven had been there the longest out of all of them; three years. They were lifelong companions before they arrived and partners for all that time – Kristoff was also the oldest at twenty. Olaf, however was the newest of the group – bar Elsa – having been here for a year since he turned sixteen, also making him the youngest. Anna had been there for two years, arriving the day after her sixteenth birthday.

The group also went to dinner together, the quality of which – Anna assured her – was amazing. Elsa was surprised to find she agreed with her; having been raised on food from the castle, she'd expected that food here would be of much worse quality, but – though the food still couldn't live up to that standard – it was still as tasty, just simpler, more suited to the hardy group of warriors it catered to.

After dinner, the group again settled in the common room; Anna demanded another rematch of chess, which the blonde was happy to oblige. This led to all of the group – even Sven – attempting to the best the princess, but to no avail.

As they returned to their rooms for the evening, Elsa couldn't help but notice – despite her earlier jealousies – how much she enjoyed spending an evening with potential friends and how happy she was that they had so readily accepted her.

As they stopped outside of Anna's room, she turned to the blonde, an inquisitive look on her face. "Elsa? You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but where are you from?" feeling awkward for asking, she averted her gaze and quickly went on to justify her line of questioning, "I don't mean to be nosey, it's just you seem so... Smart and refined and beautiful!" Anna blurted out the last one, causing a blush to erupt across both girls' faces, both equally surprised that she had said it. "Umm... not that beauty comes from upbringing, but, well, it's true, so... I'm just gonna stop talking." Anna finished quietly.

Emboldened by the redhead's words, Elsa spoke softly. "Thank you, you're beautiful too." Both of their blushes deepened at that and Elsa quickly changed the topic, "I'm actually a princess, of a kingdom called Arendelle."

Anna's jaw dropped. Her eyes bulging as she stared at the blonde in shock, causing Elsa the squirm under her intense gaze.

After a moment, she shook her head, snapping her out of her trance and dropped down on to one knee. "Y-Your highness! I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I-"

Alarmed by Anna's actions, she quickly interrupted, worried that this could change their budding friendship. "Please Anna! you don't need to kneel; I'm not a princess anymore, so just call me Elsa, okay?" The blonde pleaded, dropping down onto her haunches, so that she was at the redhead's level.

Anna looked up, cringing at her own actions. "Right, I-I'm sorry – again – I just panicked; I've never met royalty bef-"

Anna paused again, fully processing what the blonde had said. "Wait, you're from Arendelle too!?"

Both quickly stood, shock evident on both their faces. Anna slapped a hand to her forehead. "Duh! How did I not realise it, you're the crown princess! Hardily anyone had seen you, I guess it makes sense now, with the ice powers... So, if you're eighteen, then you can't have disappeared long after I did."

Elsa was beyond surprised that the redhead hailed from the same kingdom as her, but what Anna was saying didn't make sense. "Wait, you said you've been a demon hunter for two years?"

"Well, yeah." Anna said, as though it was obvious, before realising what the blonde meant. "Ooohh... Right! Time here doesn't work the same way as in the normal world; though everyone here is roughly from the same time period, some people are from decades in the future, others from decades in the past." Anna registered the confused look on the princesses face, before adding; "It's confusing, I know. Also, when we appear at an outbreak site – places where demons are attacking – it isn't always in the same time we're from; some people have even gone far into the future!"

Elsa had earlier thought that today couldn't get more surprising. How wrong she was. She felt dizzy as the weight of the day bore down on her. "Okay, that's... a lot to take in..." She shot the redhead a hesitant smile, "Are there any other surprises I should know about?" She asked, half joking.

Anna pondered the question. "Hmm... I think so... Oh! We do have these amulets that allow us to understand and speak all languages, which is why everyone here could understand you and you them – I'll have to get you one tomorrow – Other than that..." The redhead trailed off with a shrug. "I think that's all the big things."

Anna felt slightly worried at the overwhelmed look on the blonde's face, hoping she'd be able to cope with all of this.

"Okay..." Spoke Elsa, "That's..." the princess stared at nothing in particular over Anna's shoulder, before continuing without altering her gaze. "I'm still going to need some time to process all of this..." She muttered. "Goodnight Anna, and... Thank you for... everything."

Anna returned the princesses smile with one of her own. "It's no problem; that's what friends are for, right?"

* * *

 _Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear what you thought!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey-oh! It took me longer than I expected to get this chapter out, I had some problems with balancing chapter length and actually ending the chapter at an appropriate point. Didn't help that I wasn't actually sure where the story was going to end, but I think I have it sorted now._

 _Anyhow, that said, this will likely be the longest chapter and has some of my favourite scenes in it; I hope you like them too._

 _Again, rated T for fantastical violence._

* * *

Sweat dripped down Elsa's face as she deflected, redirected and dodged strike after strike. Her opponent was relentless; drawing from a seemingly endless pool of stamina that far out-matched her own.

Sensing the blonde's fatigue, Anna halted her barrage of attacks; an action that caught her of guard, causing her to stumble. Quickly catching the blonde before she lost her balance, she led her to a nearby bench, handing her a cup of water. "You were great, Elsa, you're really getting the hang of this!" Anna praised as Elsa quickly drained the cup.

"How do you have so much energy!?" The blonde managed to ask between pants.

Anna simply laughed in reply. "Training, and lots of it."

Elsa was shocked at how much energy the redhead seemed to have, but she was also surprised at how long she'd lasted against her; being a princess, physically demanding activities were rare, which she would have assumed would have led to a lack of stamina on her part. Must be those innate abilities that Anna was talking about.

Not helping her physical exhaustion, Elsa got very little sleep the night before; still digesting everything that had happened that day and everything Anna had told her. She'd been thrown into a world so foreign to her in every way; there was no more hiding from people behind her status as princess, no more hiding her powers – abilities like hers were accepted here – the only wedge between her and everyone else now was her shyness.

"Hey," said Anna, breaking Elsa out of her reverie, "how're you holding up?"

Elsa turned to regard the redhead, who wore a mildly concerned expression. "I'm okay," she said with a smile. "Just thinking... This is all such a big change for me, it'll take a while to get used to it." Anna nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I remember when I first came; it's like a whole new world we were completely unaware of."

The thoughtful silence that stretched between the two was broken by Anna. "Well, when you're ready, we can find you a mentor for your powers?"

After a short break for them both – mostly Elsa – to catch their breath, Anna led Elsa to a specialist section of the training facilities designed for individuals with powers. Centred around its own building, the facilities – both inside and out – seemed to be designed especially for enduring the brunt of various different elemental powers; the walls, floors and even training dummies coated in protective materials to suit their purpose.

Leading the blonde princess through the main section of the building, Anna knocked on a door off to the side down a small hallway.

The door opened, revealing a short – at least a head shorter than Anna – older man, with hair that was more grey than black.

"Hi, Pabbie!" Anna greeted, with a short wave and a smile. She stood to the side, gesturing to the blonde. "This is Elsa," She turned to look at Elsa. "Elsa, this is Pabbie."

Pabbie stood forward with a small smile, regarding Anna, before settling his gaze on Elsa. "Hello, Anna. Nice to meet you, Elsa – I presume you're Anna's new partner?"

Anna shot the man a questioning look, but before she could ask how he knew, he simply winked, as if that answered the question.

Elsa bowed her head in greeting, "I am, yes. It's nice to meet you too."

Pabbie looked Elsa up and down and spoke, cutting off Anna before she could utter a word "So, you have come to me for training? I can sense the magic in you, Elsa."

Elsa was shocked at this; who exactly was this man who could sense her powers and know things he was never told? She quickly caught herself and responded, "Yes, I... Well, I've never been able to properly control my powers, but Anna says you can help me?"

"Yes, I can sense the fear inside you; fear does not begat control." Pabbie nodded resolutely. "Come, we will begin immediately."

* * *

Elsa learned more about her powers in a few short hours with Pabbie than she had in the previous eighteen years of her life. Under his tutelage – in a safe environment – Elsa let her powers flow through her, testing her limits; forming and reshaping intricate sculptures of ice and snow, without worry of repercussion or potential harm that could befall others.

From a protected booth, Anna and Pabbie watched the stunning display. Anna was in complete awe, her gasps of amazement were plentiful; despite having witnessed elemental powers many times before, there was something about the way that Elsa expressed herself through her element that was utterly... captivating. As the blonde danced her magical dance, Anna couldn't help but realise that the look of serenity on the Elsa's face might possibly be the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Forgetting the world around her, Elsa lost track of time as her creativity materialised around her. After an amount of time she couldn't even begin to guess at, fatigue set over her and she slowed to a stop, silently taking in the sculptures that surrounded her.

Her silent reverie was broken by a voice to her left, "Elsa, that was absolutely amazing!" Remembering that she wasn't alone, Elsa turned to regard the quickly approaching redhead, a blush settling across her features.

Anna stopped just before the blushing blonde, a blush of her own setting in. "That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Before Elsa could think to respond, Pabbie spoke from behind Anna, "For someone with so little experience using their powers, you handle them remarkably; we'll just need to help you control them in a more..." He made a show of looking around the protected room they were in, "...open environment."

He sent the blonde a warm smile before continuing, "but I'm sure you must be tired after that display, we can work on control tomorrow."

Physically exhausted from the earlier combat training and mentally exhausted from the magical training, Elsa let Anna lead her to dinner and – after that – a quiet corner in the common room to relax before bed.

They settled – just the two of them this time – into a comfortable silence, which was uncharacteristically broken by Elsa.

"Do you really think my powers are beautiful?" She asked in a small voice; having only just worked up the courage to ask.

Anna looked over to the blonde, noting how vulnerable she seemed at the moment; her heart ached at the sight. She replied without missing a beat, "Of course they are, you were amazing earlier. You shouldn't feel ashamed of what you can do; you don't have to hide your powers here."

Elsa just frowned at this, looking at her hands. "Back home, my parents and I were always afraid of what would happen if I lost control of my powers and as I got older, they just got stronger..."

She closed her eyes and sighed, looking upon Anna when she opened them; meeting her teal eyes with a small smile. "I don't know why, but since arriving here, they've been easier to control. It's... nice, not living in fear of being a monster," Elsa's smile grew, causing the redhead to sport one of her own. "Thank you for believing in me, Anna."

At this, Anna's already smiling face broke in to a grin. "Hug?" She asked, opening her arms at the offer.

Elsa looked momentarily surprised, before meeting the redhead's embrace.

"You're not a monster." Anna whispered resolutely to the blonde, warmth blooming in her chest at the contact.

* * *

"Your stamina's really improving, and you picked up swordplay well; you're gonna do great in the field."

Anna and Elsa had just finished training for the day, the two making their way to the common room to enjoy their evening. Elsa had been at the Demonguard sanctuary for just under a week; according to Anna, most new hunters have their first real demon fight on their seventh day – tomorrow, for Elsa.

The blonde looked anxious at Anna's comment; something the redhead noticed.

"Hey," she said, resting her hand on Elsa's arm. Over the week, as they got to know each other, and Elsa became more comfortable with... people in general, the two became closer, to the point where physical contact wasn't something that the princess shied away from – at least, not where Anna was concerned.

"I know you're worried about tomorrow, but I'm telling you: it'll be fine." At the doubtful look Elsa gave her, Anna continued, "Well, it'll be pretty scary at first – I won't lie – but you'll be able to deal with it, I promise." She gave the blonde a reassuring smile when she met her eyes. "And if anything goes wrong, I'll be there to back you up."

Elsa's shoulder's relaxed slightly at the redhead's words, but she still looked hesitant. "Look, I'm not going to be able to convince you, so let's just try and forget about it for the evening, okay?"

In the common room, Kristoff, Sven, Olaf and Marshmallow – Olaf's partner; apparently Marshmallow wasn't his actual name, but everyone refused to tell her what it actually was – were sat waiting for the two.

Olaf and Kristoff seemed to be arguing about their favourite dessert – Elsa had quickly learned, much to her relief, that they didn't all spend their evenings reliving the glory of killing demons; most people seemed to be much more passionate about that which they did in their spare time. She reminded herself that no one actually chose the job, so they likely weren't enthusiastic about it enough to talk about it all the time – unless, of course, something of exceptional note happened.

"I don't know how it's even possible to not like carrot cake, it's the best!" Kristoff declared to Olaf as the two sat, Sven nodded vigorously in agreement. Anna and Elsa simply exchanged a look of amusement.

Olaf pulled a look of exaggerated disgust, "It's not even worthy of the title of cake!" he exclaimed, raising his finger to the sky in emphasis. "You just can't beat a good ice cream."

Kristoff gave him a look, like he didn't want to put down the icy treat, but at the same time, wanted to defend his cake of choice. Instead, he addressed the newcomers.

"What do you two think? What's your favourite dessert?"

"Chocolate!" Both replied simultaneously, without missing a beat.

More surprised that they answered at the same time than their choice of confection, the two exchanged a smile of solidarity, while the rest of the table laughed at their reply.

"Well," Kristoff huffed in mock disappointment, "looks like we have a three-way tie."

Anna snorted in amusement. "I don't know why you're so surprised; you have this argument once a month – at least this time I have Elsa to back me up."

"Hey!" Kristoff retorted, "This is an important conversation; especially as we needed to find out Elsa's opinion." He said, gesturing towards the blonde, before adding, "Besides, Olaf keeps bringing it up."

Olaf glared indignantly, "I'll keep bringing it up until you and Sven get a better answer."

Sven and Kristoff frowned in reply, but didn't rise to the bait, much to Anna's apparent relief.

Elsa smiled at their antics – she'd been around them long enough to know that Kristoff and Olaf's apparent rivalry wasn't actually serious, so when they moved onto the next topic like their disagreement never happened, she wasn't surprised.

The night carried on much the same, with the group happily talking. By the time they went to bed, Elsa had almost forgotten what awaited her the next day.

* * *

Despite her worries, Elsa slept as peacefully as any other night, but the minute she woke up, all of her worries came rushing back. When Anna met Elsa for breakfast, she could instantly sense the blonde's anxiousness and – knowing nothing she said would likely alleviate her worry – tried to treat the day as any other, cheerfully wishing her good morning.

Asides from the princess's anxieties and conversations that were mostly one-sided on Anna's part, the day progressed as normal until midday. Not long before lunch, the same tingling sensation from birthday brought her attention to her now glowing wrists. Looking to Anna, she noticed hers were also glowing.

"Alright Elsa, this is our cue to get ready."

With that, they were off; over the next twenty minutes, they got their equipment and weapons ready – both carrying a bow, sword and various shorter blades for emergencies – and had a small bite to eat before coming to a stop just outside the armoury.

Anna looked towards the apprehensive blonde, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "Are you ready?"

Elsa closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before meeting the redhead's eyes, "As ready as I'll ever be..."

With that, Anna simply instructed Elsa to put her wrists together, like when she first came to the sanctuary.

In a flash of blue light, they were gone.

* * *

The duo materialised in a small town, next to a well-worn dirt road that stretched from one end to the other. The town was colder than the town where their first fight was, but it was still warmer than Arendelle. There was a cosy-looking pub in the middle of the town, which they stood across the road from.

A blood curdling scream from further down the road broke the tranquil quiet of the sparsely populated town.

With a quick look of reassurance and an encouraging "Come on!" Anna ran off in the direction of the scream, bow in hand.

Elsa hesitated momentarily, but a burst of adrenaline and the thought that Anna was depending on her helped her quickly overcome her trepidation, setting off in pursuit of the redhead.

As they got further down the road, people started running out from an alleyway between two buildings – a few screaming, but all of them were clearly terrified.

The crowd of people passed and were closely followed by vaguely humanoid demons; about the size of an average man, with sharp claws, thick red hide and soulless black eyes. They stopped their pursuit of the townsfolk and shifted their attention to Anna and Elsa – letting loose an inhuman screech.

The forward-most creature had barely opened its jaws before an arrow punctured its throat, shot by the redhead, who was already taking aim with her next arrow.

Elsa briefly thought that she should draw her bow, however her accuracy was tenuous at the best of times; with the combination of fear and adrenaline coursing through her, her hands were too shaky to allow her to effectively wield her bow. She decided instead to draw her sword, grasping the hilt firmly with both hands, while trying to steady her breath.

Anna had shot down five more before one finally reached the blonde. Her adrenaline spiked, her newly-developed fighting instincts taking over as the creature swiped at her; her sword defecting the blow and quickly moving to intercept the follow-up from the other claw.

They traded blows for a while; Elsa too afraid to push any meaningful attacks, until she noticed that no other demons were attacking her. A quick glance to the Anna confirmed that the redhead was keeping all the others concentrated on her – presumably to give the blonde a less stressful first encounter.

Realising that her delaying could put Anna at risk, Elsa quickly followed-up her latest parry with a swipe to the throat – killing the demon.

Too concerned for her partner to dwell on what she'd just done, Elsa quickly moved to assist Anna, who was making dodging the attacks of five demons look easy.

From Elsa's experience of the other woman in normal situations, she was not the most graceful – some might even dare to call her clumsy – however, looking at her now, the redhead was artfully parrying, dodging and ducking under attack after attack. Despite Anna's skill, Elsa could tell that Anna would need help if she actually wanted to kill the beasts so – eager to prove her competence – Elsa thrust her sword through the back of one of them, alerting the others to her presence.

With the remaining four demons split between the two, they quickly dispatched them

With the remaining four demons split between the two, Anna dispatched her two with a practiced ease, with Elsa not far behind.

With the piercing screams of the demons no longer filling the air, a quiet fell over the two, punctuated only by their heavy breathing. The quiet left Elsa to her thoughts; she'd just killed those things... She thought that she shouldn't feel bad – they were evil, soulless beings that only sought to kill, after all – but that didn't help the guilt that settled over her.

It seemed, however, that they were not done, as another scream cut through the air.

One last creature was rushing towards the two, claws at the ready.

Before she could completely register the thought, the blonde raised her hand, a sheet of ice spreading out around and in front of her – the sudden reduction in friction causing the demon to slip up.

Elsa stepped forward onto the ice, moving across the smooth surface with ease towards the fallen demon. Standing over it, she quickly ended its screams before it could get up. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"See, Elsa? I told you you'd be grea- Oof!" In her rush to get over to the blonde, Anna had slipped almost as soon as she'd stepped onto the ice.

Despite the situation, Elsa couldn't help but laugh at the redhead's clumsiness. "Whoa, Anna are you alright?" Elsa asked while hurrying over, unable to hide the amusement in her voice.

"I'm fine!" Anna shouted, quickly clambering up, losing her balance again in the process.

Elsa arrived just in time to catch the flailing redhead mid fall, wrapping her arms around her waist and back.

Anna gasped in surprise at the blonde's catch, eyes meeting dazzling blue orbs accompanied by an amused grin from the woman above her.

They stayed like that for a while, staring into each other's eyes, before Anna managed to come to her senses. "Uh, thanks for catching me," she said, a blush spreading across her freckled cheeks, "the ice was slippy."

Inwardly cringing, Anna mentally berated herself for the stupidity of what she'd just said. Meanwhile Elsa – not fully registering the redhead's last statement – also blushed at the intimacy of their current position and quickly moved to help her up. "T-That's quite alright, I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

Both now standing, Anna gave Elsa a goofy smile, "Aww, thanks Elsa, I'm glad I've got you to back me up."

Elsa stood proudly, her grin breaking through her serious facade, "as your princess, it is my duty to protect you from... slippery ice."

Anna laughed, "Well, then I will forever be grateful for her highnesses kindness."

The two broke into fits of giggles.

After composing themselves and remembering where they were, they checked the alleyway to make sure there were no more demons on the loose. Confirming that was the case – the Demonguard symbol's appearance on their wrists apparently doing so – they briefly looked around the town, before returning to the sanctuary.

Arriving back in the common room, Anna turned to Elsa, "So, how was your first demon hunt?"

"It was – well... it was pretty terrifying..." Elsa said, with a shy smile.

Anna nodded and placed a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder, "You did well, though and you were pretty darn brave."

Elsa didn't know about that; she was shaking like a leaf at first. Anna must have saw her doubt, as she elaborated, "bravery isn't being fearless; it's being afraid and acting anyway." Anna gave her a smile like she hadn't just said something extremely profound. "But are you alright? The first few times can be quite traumatic."

Elsa nodded, "I think so."

* * *

 _Hope you enjoyed it, I'd love to hear what you thought or any feedback you might have._

 _Happy New Year!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hey, here's another chapter for ya, hope you're still enjoying the story!_

* * *

Over the next two months, Elsa's life found a new 'normal'. She had proper friends for the first time in forever, a level of control over her powers that she could never have dreamed of attaining before arriving here and a great partner in the form of Anna. Life was far from perfect – she still missed her parents dearly and often had a hard time adjusting to her sudden change in situation – but Anna was always there to help her through hard times and comfort her when she was down.

Elsa cherished all of her friends, but her friendship with the redhead was... different Somehow. In her life as a princess, she was never particularly close to anyone – even with her relationship with her parents, fear kept them at arm's length – but she could tell the closeness that she was developing with Anna was one that was only surpassed by the closeness that one would have with a lover. A thought that, for some reason unknown to Elsa, made her blush.

"Elsa! Are we ready?"

The former princess turned, smiling at the redhead. "Yeah, let's go."

With a flash of blue, they disappeared.

They were greeted by the cold climate; snow falling around them, a sheet of white blanketing the city. Behind them, a grand stone castle stood in the water, a large bridge lined with banners leading the way to the wooden gates.

The city was beautiful...

Both women recognised it instantly.

"Arendelle..." Anna muttered, both were shocked to see their home.

"Oh my gosh! I thought I'd never see this place again!" Anna gushed, overcome with excitement, "And the castle! It's just as beautiful as I remember; I used to dream about living there one day..."

Anna gave a slightly nervous laugh, remembering who exactly she was speaking to.

Elsa, however, was silent. On one hand, the sight of her home brought a warmth to her heart; but on the other, coming back simply reminded her of how afraid she used to be and how far she had come since then.

Anna stepped in front of her, placing her hands on her shoulders. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Elsa gave her a sad smile, "It's just... bittersweet, I suppose. Being back."

Anna pulled the blonde into a hug, unsure of what to say. But before she could think of anything, an otherworldly roar pulled them apart.

Two hulking demons – both the same size as the one they encountered on their first meeting – stood facing them.

Having just split apart, Elsa and Anna drew their swords simultaneously, waiting for the demons to attack.

The one opposite Anna charged first. Without missing a beat, Elsa quickly formed a sheet of ice over the ground between them with the intent of causing the beast to slip. However, as it started to lose balance, the beast simply dropped to all fours; digging it's claws into the ice.

The other beast – unmoved until now – leapt into the air, slamming down onto the ice sheet, shattering it.

Exchanging a nervous glance with her partner, Elsa summoned hundreds of icicles, firing them at the beasts. Though they did little damage, the icicles served to make the demons flinch, allowing the two to leap into action.

Though Anna managed to finish hers with a quick stab to the throat, Elsa's proved to be more difficult; recovering quicker than anticipated, the demon delivered a swipe Elsa only barely managed to block. The force behind the block caused her to stumble, allowing the demon to follow through with another swipe.

Elsa ducked under the swipe and lodged her sword into its arm. Outraged, the demon kicked Elsa onto her back, winding her.

Elsa braced herself for another attack. However – before the demon could attack – a battle cry sounded to its right.

Anna charged the beast, cutting a deep gash into its chest and pulling Elsa's blade out of its arm.

With Elsa now back on her feet, Anna threw her the sword. They both pressed their attack. The beast, overwhelmed with its injuries and struggle of fending off two fighters, was easily beaten by the two.

As they caught their breath, a voice sounded behind them.

"E-Elsa...?"

While they had fought, the two were unaware of the small contingent of people that had gathered on the castle bridge. Upon hearing Elsa's name called, the two turned to face the newcomers.

Both women gasped.

"Mother? Father?"

Elsa's parents – who, she noted, looked more haggard than their usually regal selves – burst into tears at the sight of their missing daughter. Her mother, unable to make more than a small squeak, cautiously moved forward to hug the blonde, quickly followed by her father.

"We thought we'd never see you again." Her father choked out, squeezing tighter as if to make sure she couldn't disappear.

Elsa initially stiffened at the unexpected contact – she couldn't remember the last time that either of her parents had hugged her – but quickly returned the hug. "I missed you too." Elsa whispered, tears streaming down her face.

They stayed like that, silently sobbing, for a few moments. Eventually they separated, all of them wiping their tears as they did so.

Elsa's mother - the Queen – looked from the blonde to Anna, "So, Elsa, would you introduce us to your friend?"

"Of course. Mother, Father this is Anna." She turned to the redhead, "Anna this is my Mother and Father; the Queen and King of Arendelle."

Anna looked flustered, before bowing to the monarchs. "Your Majesties, it's a pleasure to meet you."

The King nodded, "Likewise, Miss Anna." He turned to address all of them, "Perhaps we should return inside, catch up over some tea?"

* * *

They walked in silence. Anna, having never seen the inside of a castle, was taken aback by the sheer size of the place; the outer walls stood tall and strong around the meticulously maintained courtyard, the castle itself stood tall and proud, its central spire piercing the sky. Inside the castle, shining suits of armour and grand staircases drew the redhead's attention. Elsa, on the other hand, was a bundle of emotions – to the point she swore the temperature had dropped slightly – though beyond happy that she had the chance to see her parents again, she also didn't know how to tell them where she'd been for the past two months.

They settled in the drawing room – the last place she had seen her parents, she noted – no one speaking until tea had been served and the servants had left.

"Elsa, where have you been?" her mother asked as soon as the four were alone, a hint of desperation in her voice.

Looking between her parents, Elsa could see the same pleading look in their eyes, desperate to know where their daughter had been.

Elsa hesitated for a moment, looking down to her lap collecting her thoughts, before speaking, "I was... conscripted into a secret group of demon hunters." Before either monarch could interrupt, Elsa continued, "I know, it sounds mad, but you saw those beasts out there... We protect people from them."

The monarchs exchanged a bemused look, before looking back to their daughter, "You vanished, Elsa... There was no trace of where you went or why; why-why didn't you tell us?"

Elsa blanched at that; they didn't know she didn't have a choice. "If I may, Your Majesty," Anna cut in, "Elsa didn't know she was going; we don't have any choice in joining. One day we just appear at the site of an attack with our partner."

The King and Queen looked thoughtful at that, their visible hurt having lessened slightly. Elsa sniffed, "I'm sorry; if I'd have had known I would have told you, If I had a choice, I would have stayed... but this is what we have to do." Elsa paused before continuing quietly, "I didn't even know If I would see you again..."

A pained look crossed the Queen's face, "Elsa, what's going on?"

Between the two of them, Elsa and Anna tried their best to explain the situation to the monarchs. Though being relieved that they had this opportunity to see their daughter again, they were pained to learn that this would likely be the last time – a thought that everyone present tried to forget for the time being.

"So, your... powers, you can control them now?" Elsa's father asked hesitantly, after they had finished discussing the demonguard.

Elsa gave a sad smile. "I can, mostly; the sanctuary has people that have experience with people with powers, I've learnt a lot."

"I... I see..." He said thoughtfully; Elsa's powers had always been a sore topic of conversation and a wedge between them and their daughter, "So there are others with powers like yours?"

"Only a few, and most also struggled controlling them before they came to the sanctuary." Elsa said, adding the last part to hopefully alleviate any guilt she suspected they might have over how they dealt with her abilities. It seemed to do the job; they both seemed slightly more relaxed than they did a moment ago.

A moment of silence settled between them, before the Queen spoke up, "So, Anna, where are you from?"

The four spoke about many different things for the next few hours; both monarchs were surprised to find that Anna was also from Arendelle and were happy to reassure both women that the kingdom was doing well – despite lamenting the disappearance of the crown princess.

Unfortunately, the outside world caught up to them, manifesting in the form of a familiar blue light.

Both parents were startled, whereas as sombre look crossed Elsa's face. "We have to go... Mother, Father, I'll miss you and I love you. Perhaps one day we'll be fortunate to cross paths again..."

The King and Queen leapt from their seats, pulling their daughter into a desperate embrace. "We love you too, Elsa, and we always will. Please never forget that."

Pulling back from the long embrace, they turned to Anna, "It was very nice to meet you Anna, please look after our daughter." The Queen said, holding one of the redhead's hands.

Anna nodded immediately, "Of course, Your Majesties, no one will harm Elsa as long as I have anything to say about it." she declared.

The Queen pulled her into a hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

With that the four gave their final goodbyes, before the two returned to the sanctuary.

* * *

Upon arrival back to the sanctuary, Elsa immediately retreated to her room – tears in her eyes – asking to be alone for a while. Anna, though reluctant to leave the blonde alone while she was this upset, honoured that wish.

During dinner, when asked where Elsa was, Anna simply told them what she had told her: that she wanted to be alone for a while. But they could tell something was wrong, not least because Anna herself was quiet and clearly bothered by whatever had the blonde spending time alone.

Saddened and worried by Elsa's absence, Anna was distracted throughout the evening; when Kristoff or Olaf would try and bring her into their conversation, she would only give short answers. Eventually, they left the redhead to her brooding, silently deciding that if it persisted to the next day, they would talk to her about it. Though – catching them all off guard – Anna suddenly stood halfway through their card game.

"I'm going to go check on Elsa," she simply said, leaving as abruptly as she stood.

Walking at a brisk pace – and only making a quick detour to the kitchen – Anna quickly arrived at Elsa's door. She hesitated momentarily, collecting her thoughts, before knocking.

Having waited a short while with no sound of movement, Anna was just about to knock again, when the door slowly cracked open.

Unable to see properly with the dark of the room, all the redhead could make out through the crack was one icy blue eye. "Yes?" Elsa asked timidly, her voice raw.

Anna knew the blonde had gone to her room to cry, however, actually seeing that brought an ache in her heart. "Elsa, are you alright? Can I come in? I brought food." She raised the tray holding broth, bread and some chocolates in emphasis.

The blonde gazed at her for a moment, sniffing, before opening the door fully.

Anna walking in, placing the tray on the desk before turning to Elsa and pulling her into an embrace.

Safe in the redhead's arms, Elsa sobbed freely, gripping her like her life depended on it. Anna simply held her and rubbed her back reassuringly, not knowing what to say.

When Elsa's sobs quieted, and her grip loosened slightly, Anna pulled back slightly to look at the blonde. "Hey, have something to eat," she said softly, "I brought chocolates!" She added in a sing-song voice.

That brought a small smile to Elsa's face, "Okay. Thank you." She said, sitting at the desk to eat.

Neither said anything while Elsa ate, only the soft sounds of eating and Elsa's sniffing filled the silence.

When she finished the broth and bread, Elsa turned to the redhead, box of chocolates in hand, "we can share these?" she said, more a statement than a question.

They settled on the bed, sitting side by side, leaning on the headboard. They ate a few in silence before Elsa spoke up, "I'm sorry I ran off, I just... I'm going to miss them..." Anna put her arm around the blonde's shoulder, pulling her to her, "Hey, you don't need to apologise; anyone would need a good cry in your situation."

"It's just, I never thought that I'd see them again – though I'm glad I got to; now they know I'm alive and well. But I thought I'd gotten to terms with it. I guess not." Elsa paused before something occurred to her, "Wait," she turned to the redhead, "we were in Arendelle, but we didn't visit your parents – Anna you should have said something!"

Anna was quick to reassure the blonde, "It's alright Elsa, they... They passed away two years before I joined the demonguard, I spent the rest of my childhood in an orphanage."

"Oh," Elsa brought her arm around Anna's waist, giving her a slight squeeze, "I'm sorry." Elsa still missed her parents, but at least she knew they were alive; she didn't know how she'd cope if they'd died.

"It's okay. I still miss them, but it was a long time ago."

Not knowing what to say to that, Elsa changed the subject, "You don't have to stay with mopey old me, you know. Go have fun with everyone else; I can't be very good company like this."

"Hey!" Anna protested, "I'm not leaving you by yourself; friends look after each other, remember?" she pulled the blonde tighter, quietly adding, "besides, I like spending time with you."

When Elsa turned to the redhead, she swore she could make out a blush on her cheeks. "Thank you for cheering me up, Anna." Elsa said with a smile.

Anna shot her a grin. "Anytime, Elsa."

* * *

 _Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm not entirely happy with Elsa's meeting with her_ _parents, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what was off about it._

 _Also, a few of you have said about Elsa struggling to cope with the changes in her life and I don't feel I've really addressed that in the story, but I didn't really want to focus on that too much (not to mention, this was originally meant to be a one shot, it then progressed into being about three chapters but it just kept growing - It'll be about six chapters, if you're wondering, still about 15k words) and I feel like there's enough Elsa being sad in this story. I know these are excuses, but I certainly get what you mean - I think I need to get better at putting myself in characters shoes as I write them - I'll definitely keep in mind what you've said in future writings and I thank you for the feedback._

 _Anyways, enough rambling from me, I'd love to hear what you think!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey, here's the second last chapter, hope you like it!_

* * *

A week after they had returned from Arendelle, it was snowing at the Demonguard Sanctuary.

The two had spent the rest of that night in Elsa's room talking into the long hours of the night, eventually falling asleep on Elsa's bed. When they awoke in the morning, they were tangled in each other's arms – which had made their morning quite awkward. It was also something that still made Anna blush from thinking about it a week later.

The redhead was on her way to the library to find Elsa; it was one of their days off and, ever since that night a week ago, Anna had decided that she wanted to do something nice for the beautiful blonde.

Arriving at the library, Anna found Elsa in her usual spot; a seat in the back corner of the second floor, with a view of the forest outside.

"Hey." Anna spoke softly, to avoid startling the blonde.

Engrossed in her book, Elsa was surprised at Anna's arrival. She took in the redhead, noticing her winter cloak, hat, gloves and the picnic basket resting in the crook of her elbow.

"Hey," Elsa responded with a smile, "what's with the basket?"

Anna became flustered at the response, a light blush settling on her freckled cheeks. "Oh, this? Um... Well, I was thinking we could go for a walk in the forest; there's a spot I want to show you and we could have a picnic there, if you wanted?"

Elsa smiled at the question, endeared by the redhead's bashfulness, "I'd love to." She responded.

A giant grin split Anna's face. "Great!" she cheered, gazing into icy blue eyes.

A moment passed with them staring into each other's eyes before Elsa broke the spell. "Shall we go then?" She asked with a smirk.

"Right!" Anna jolted to attention, coming to her senses. "Let's go."

* * *

The two walked, in comfortable conversation, through the forest. In normal weather, it was a lush green; filled with pine trees, it reminded Elsa of the forests surrounding Arendelle. In the snow however, she could easily be convinced she was in Arendelle. The forest was draped in a sheet of pure white, a sight that both women found breath-takingly beautiful.

"Alright, here we are."

Anna had brought them to a stop at the edge of the forest, next to a small inlet, where a small river met the sea. On the bank was a large clearing, with a snow-covered log sat near the edge, where the clearing met the forest. It was beautiful, the snow bringing a peaceful silence; the falling snow and flowing water the only signs that time hadn't stood still.

Anna cleared the snow from the log, sat down and patted the spot beside her, "C'mon Elsa, let's eat."

Elsa sat turning to the redhead, "this place is beautiful, how did you find it?"

Anna, who was unpacking the picnic food, smiled at Elsa, "I thought you might like this place. I found it soon after I arrived; I like to explore, and I just stumbled across this place." She sighed happily, "It's a nice place to unwind."

The two sat, eating and taking in the sights around them, talking about nothing of particular importance; simply enjoying each other's company and the scenery around them.

"Elsa, do you wanna build a snowman?" Anna asked when they'd finished eating.

Elsa didn't know why she was surprised that that was something that Anna enjoyed doing, even as an adult; though she could admit that it sounded fun. "Sure."

Anna's face lit up at the response, "Great! You build a head, I'll build a body."

The two set off, using the abundant snow in the clearing to roll their boulders of snow. Putting Elsa's smaller one on top of Anna's larger, they found some twigs for arms and rocks for eyes and buttons.

"Hmm, it looks kinda weird without a nose, but I don't have a carrot." Anna shrugged, the two standing back to admire their creation.

"Oh well," said Elsa, "He looks good as he is." Giving the snowman a more critical look, she asked with an amused tone, "Is it just me, or does he look a bit like Olaf?"

Anna regarded the snowman again, before dissolving into laughter, "He does!"

The two laughed, Anna's hand resting on Elsa's shoulder, where she suddenly decided she wanted to roll around in the snow and she wanted Elsa to join her. Without warning her, she fell back, pulling the blonde with her, who yelped in surprise. As they landed with a puff in the powdery snow, Anna laughed more, while Elsa breathed out an annoyed "Hey."

A plot of revenge forming with the mischievous smirk on her face, Elsa flicked her wrist, causing a pillow of snow to fall on the redhead's face, muffling a quiet "oof."

Sitting up while wiping the snow off her face with her gloved hand, Anna pouted. "No fair." She grumbled.

Elsa simply chuckled in reply, ruffling the other woman's hair to clear it of snow. Looking up, she noticed the sun falling below the horizon, "It's getting dark, we should probably head back." She got up while Anna nodded in agreement, offering a hand to pull her up.

Taking the hand, Anna thanked her when she was stood. Not letting go, Anna simply pulled Elsa along as she went to pick up the basket. They walked back hand-in-hand.

Not that Elsa was complaining.

* * *

Ever since the walk back two days ago, Elsa and Anna had been holding hands frequently. So, when they appeared in an unfamiliar environment in a familiar burst of blue light, that their first instinct was to link hands was not considered to be that unusual by either of the pair.

Their surroundings were unlike anything either of them had ever seen before. They stood between towering building made of a strange grey stone, the ground beneath them was covered in a uniform black stone marked with white lines that went through the centre of the road. At least, Elsa thought it was a road. The streets between these strange buildings were abandoned – a common trend at sites of demon attacks – there wasn't even a plant in sight, only strange metal carts dotted the sides of the roads.

"Where are we?" Anna asked quietly, both equally in awe at the peculiar surroundings.

"I have no idea." The blonde replied, though a thought back to something Anna had mentioned on her first day at the sanctuary stuck out in her mind, "perhaps we're in a different time?" Elsa offered cautiously, the suggestion sounding ridiculous to her as it passed through her lips.

Anna, somehow managing to look more shocked at the suggestion, looked to Elsa. "You could be right..."

While the two tried to make heads or tails of their new surroundings, the sky darkened; clouds formed to cover the sky and a menacing red glow permeated the clouds like blood on snow.

A flash of red lightning struck, closely followed by thunder, alerting the duo to the unnatural sky.

A glint of horrified recognition passed Anna's face. "Oh no..."

Alarmed by the sudden change in atmosphere and even more so by the redhead's severe demeanour, Elsa hastily questioned her, "What is it? What's happening, Anna?"

Eyes wide, transfixed on the sky, Anna muttered, "It's a behemoth..."

It took Elsa a few seconds to recall what she'd been told about behemoths and when she did, her blood ran cold. Behemoths were said to be taller than buildings; terrifying beasts that brought with them hordes of smaller demons and often required special methods to take them down. One thing in particular stood out to her, though, something Anna had said...

"I've only faced a behemoth once before; that was when I lost my last partner."

Despite the renewed fear coursing through her veins, Elsa maintained a strong front. She gave the redhead's hand a reassuring squeeze, getting her attention. "We can do this, Anna, both of us can get through this."

Anna nodded, "yeah..." she muttered unconvincingly. Looking into Elsa's eyes, the blonde could see the fear in them.

The redhead fidgeted, looking away, "Elsa, I- Just in case, I-"

A ground-shaking roar cut Anna off. Visibly annoyed and afraid, Anna shook her head in frustration, before pulling Elsa in the direction of the tremor. "Come on, Elsa!" She said, in an attempt to sound encouraging.

They didn't have to go far to find the source of the chaos; rounding a corner, a colossal beast stood in the distance. Standing just shy of the height of the buildings that dotted this strange city, the beast was a bipedal reptilian, with sinister red scales; already it was destroying the nearest building.

"I-I didn't know they could get that large..." Anna voice came with a tremble, her face drained of colour – Elsa's chest hurt at the sight, seeing the bubbly and confident redhead reduced to this.

Clearly Elsa was going to have to help her keep a level head. "Anna, we need to think of a plan, how're we going to do this?"

Elsa's voice pulling her eyes away from the abyss of fear in her mind, Anna rubbed her temples – trying to focus. "Okay, okay... A plan... They'll be smaller demons, but they'll disappear after the behemoth dies, so we need to take it out. But how?" The two studied the beast, searching for a weakness. Elsa chimed in, "It's scales seem to be smaller towards the head, perhaps they are weaker there?"

Anna squinted at the beast, seemingly assessing the possibility. "Yes... Yes! I think you might be right, and maybe..." Anna searched through her quiver quickly, a shred of hope in her eyes. Grasping three odd looking green arrows, she held them in the air in triumph. "Yes!" She shouted, facing the blonde, "These arrows are enchanted using the most intricate of runes; they'll be able to pierce those scales, but... They need more of a kick..." She gave the blonde a piecing look, drawing her bow for inspection.

"Elsa, some people with powers like yours can imbue a weapon with a burst of their magic, temporarily. Your powers will probably feel slightly drained for a while, but it won't harm you..." Anna trailed off.

Nodding to the unanswered question, Elsa spoke. "Alright, give me your bow."

Staying quiet, Anna handed her the bow. Taking it with care, Elsa turned it over in her hands, inspecting it as if the instructions for imbuing it with power were hidden in the design of the bow itself.

Closing her eyes, Elsa focused on her powers, trying to draw on them without freezing anything. She imagined her power seeping into the bow, lending it – leading Anna – her strength. She suddenly felt dizzy. The redhead let out a faint gasp. Opening her eyes, she saw a blue glow settle over the bow as the dizzy spell passed. She handed the bow back to Anna.

"I... think I did it."

Anna simply nodded. "Thank you." She paused while she gathered her thoughts. "Okay," she pointed to a tall building near the behemoth, "I'm going to climb that building to get a good vantage point, I need you fight the small demons; stop them from causing too much trouble, while I deal with the big one."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Elsa squeezed the redhead's free hand, "you can do this, Anna; I believe in you."

A smile broken on Anna's face, a small one, but it was the first for a while so Elsa counted it as a good thing. "Thanks, Elsa, good luck."

Elsa turned to set off in the direction of the demons when a hand pulled her back, "O-oh, one more thing!" Anna quickly dove in, pressing her lips to Elsa's cheek, before quickly turning away – face glowing. "Let's go, good luck, Elsa."

Anna hastily set off, leaving Elsa stood there, stunned with a goofy smile on her face; rubbing the spot where soft lips had been mere moments earlier.

"Good luck, Anna..." Elsa muttered, setting off herself.

* * *

 _Well, next chapter is the last one... see ya there..._

 _As always, I hope you liked this chapter, I love to hear if you did. If you didn't, then I'd still love to hear why; I'd always like to improve._

 _Anyways, thanks for reading!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi again! Final chapter for ya, I hope you like it!_

* * *

Little resistance stood between her and the building, which meant that perhaps there weren't that many smaller demons yet – the redhead though – making Elsa's job easier. Thoughts of the blonde brought Anna's mind back to the kiss she'd given her and the warmth it brought to her chest; bringing a soft smile to her face. However, she suppressed her giddiness. She needed to focus.

Finding a stairwell, Anna set off running up the steps.

* * *

Elsa set off in the direction of the behemoth. Though not intending to get its attention, she knew that there would be more demons closer to it; if there were focused on her, they wouldn't be able to cause as much damage.

The demons in question were small – about two thirds her own height – and weak; their strength came in their numbers.

A large horde ambled about in front of Elsa, slowly wandering further into the city.

Correction: they were, as now they enduring a torrent of ice shards as a sword-wielding blonde set upon them.

* * *

Anna hadn't been counting, but the building had to be at least ten stories tall. Though, despite this, the redhead was barely out of breath by the time she burst through the roof access door. Running to the edge of the building, she looked down, spotting Elsa amongst a horde of demons, effortlessly dispatching them.

Reassured that Elsa was doing alright, Anna looked up at the behemoth, slowly moving through the city.

Anna readied her bow.

"Okay," She muttered to herself, taking deep steadying breaths, "You can do this, Anna; just shoot it in the neck."

Drawing her bow, she nocked one of the green arrows. As the two met, both glowed slightly; the bow the same blue as Elsa's eyes, the arrow a light green. The two auras merged, forming a teal glow – the same teal as her own eyes, Anna noted.

Drawing her bow, she could feel the power that she wielded.

She took aim and fired, the arrow loosing in a powerful burst of light.

The arrow struck true, piercing into the behemoth's neck. It recoiled with a pained roar and focused it's gaze directly on Anna, advancing on her.

"Oh no... That's not good!" Anna cried, fumbling the draw the next arrow as the beast drew ever closer.

Slightly shakier this time, Anna shot another arrow through the behemoth's neck. This shot stopped it in its tracks; though still alive, the behemoth was in great pain, blood gushing from its wounds – which were made larger by the enchantments on the bow and arrows.

Anna readied her last arrow, waiting for it to make another move.

It swayed, probably delirious from blood loss, before taking another slow, earth-shaking step towards the building. Anna – allowing no leeway, as she was almost within the reach of its claws – shot her final arrow through its eye.

The gargantuan beast let out a dying gurgle, before falling to its death.

Right into Anna's building.

With an anguished cry, Anna set off running to the other edge of the roof right as the beast impacted, the sheer weight of the behemoth ensuring the building was barely an obstacle to its fall.

Thinking fast, Anna pulled out an arrow tied to a rope with a large hook head. She leapt off the side of the building, turning in mid-air to fire the arrow at the ledge of the roof.

The arrow caught, the tension slowing Anna's descent. Using the rope, Anna abseiled down the building in great leaps. However, as the behemoth's body crashed through the walls, the building started to crumble, and the windows shattered in explosions of glass.

Blinded as she was by the debris assaulting her body, Anna didn't see exactly what cut the rope.

She only felt the tension release as she plummeted towards the ground.

* * *

A streak of teal light thundered above Elsa's head, followed immediately by a deafening roar.

The former princess cut down the last of her assailants before turning her attention to the scene unravelling above her.

"Was that Anna?" Elsa muttered, watching as the behemoth recoiled in pain.

Panic filled her when she saw it start to move towards Anna building. Elsa broke into a sprint, running through different streets to get to Anna as two more bolts of light shot overhead.

As she approached the building, she heard a crash, closely followed by a figure jumping off the roof.

"ANNA!"

Fear paralysed her long enough to watch the ill-fated descent, dread chilling her being as Anna's rope was cut.

Elsa ran, planting herself next to where Anna would fall. She channelled her fear and pain and worry and... love. She channelled all of her emotions, drawing on her power. Raising her arms, a giant pillow of soft snow materialised on the ground under Anna.

Not a millisecond later, the redhead landed in a poof of snow. Elsa quickly constructed a shelter of thick ice over the pillow, deflecting any debris that might rain down upon them.

"Anna!" Elsa called, running through the snow towards the depression in the middle. Fear gripped her insides, what if the pillow wasn't deep enough?

Bounding through the snow, Elsa caught sight of the redhead, lying limp in the snow. Glass and debris had torn her tunic and cut her skin.

Elsa dropped down beside her, afraid to touch her, "Anna, can you hear me, are you alright!?"

A few impossibly long seconds passed before Anna's body shook in a cough.

Elsa gently cupped her face as her eyes opened, "Anna?"

Dazed from the fall, Anna was confused as to where this bright blue haven was. Though she was confused to see Elsa gazing down at her, concern in her eyes.

"Elsa...? Are we... alive?"

The blonde chuckled, tears streaming down her face. "Yes, we're alive." She said, gently hugging the redhead.

Anna returned the hug with one hand, the other exploring the cold powder around them. "Snow..." She muttered, realising what had happened, "Elsa, you saved me?" Pulling her other arm around the blonde, she squeezed her closer. Whispering through her own tears, Anna thanked her softly.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours – whispering words of reassurance and relief – before Elsa pulled back slightly. They locked eyes, their eyes saying things their mouths were not yet ready to say.

Affection for the gorgeous blonde swelled in Anna's heart. Lost in her loving blue eyes, a question passed her lips before she could stop it.

"Elsa, can I kiss you?"

The blonde's eyes widened in shock, she hadn't dared hope that Anna could think of her that way. Her heart fluttered, warmth bloomed in her chest.

"You may."

Anna gently pulled Elsa lower, bringing the blonde's warm lips to her own as their eyes closed in anticipation. Their lips met, a passionate fire burning through them – warming their souls in the cold embrace of the snow.

When they separated, they both wore matching grins.

"You're amazing..." Anna muttered.

Elsa chuckled, affectionately rubbing Anna's cheek with her thumb. "Well, you're pretty great yourself."

Anna's grin settled into a smile, a hint of worry in her eyes. "It's just... you're kind and funny and oh so beautiful and..." She shook her head, in an attempt to clear her thoughts. "Elsa..." their eyes locked. Anna spoke in a whisper, worried at the blonde's reaction. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

"An-And not like a 'you're my best friend' kind of love – not that you're not my best friend; you are – but..." She trailed off, trying to gauge the blonde's reaction.

Elsa felt as if her heart was about to explode, Anna's confession shocking her into silence; how could this amazing redhead who captured her heart possibly feel the same way?

At Elsa's silence, Anna panicked. "I-It's okay if you don't feel the same, I'm sorry I forced this all on you; I shouldn't ha-"

Elsa cut her off with a short kiss.

As she pulled back, Anna looked adorably confused. Elsa simply smiled.

"Anna, I think I'm falling for you, too."

Anna's eye's widened, then she squealed with joy, pulling the blonde into another embrace.

* * *

They stayed, led in the snow, until strange high-pitched noises filled the air. Figuring that – if this was indeed the future, and not some strange land they've never heard of – they should probably learn as little as possible about how the world advances, so they hastily returned to the sanctuary. They quickly became the centre of attention when they returned; everyone wanting to know about the future or how they'd managed to take down a behemoth.

They told everyone what happened, then went about their evening as normal – albeit, with a closeness they didn't have before their kiss and a trip to the infirmary that Elsa insisted on – until they met with Kristoff and everyone else.

"Well, if it isn't the saviours of the world, back from slaying a behemoth." Kristoff called as they approached the group after dinner. His face held a grin of amusement, but his eyes showed a hint of concern – a look mirrored by the whole group. He spoke again in a more serious tone, "Are you two alright?"

They both sat in their seats, giving Kristoff a tired smile. "We'll be alright, just a bit tired." Anna was touched by the concern of their friends; when her previous partner died, they helped comfort her – that they recognised that another behemoth encounter would bring up old fears and memories made Anna appreciate them that much more.

Elsa gave Anna's hand a reassuring squeeze, which drew Olaf's attention to their adjoined hands. His barely concealed gasp of delight was not unnoticed by Kristoff, who was also beginning to connect the dots.

"So, you finally figured it out, huh?" Kristoff said with a sly smile.

The duo blushed, but feigned ignorance. "W-what do you mean?"

Kristoff gave her look that screamed 'are you kidding me?' "Anna, from the moment I saw you two playing chess on Elsa's first day – the way you two looked at each other – it was obvious that you two had a thing for each other; I'm just surprised it took you so long."

They both blushed deeper, Anna nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I didn't realise I was that obvious..." she mumbled.

The group simply laughed, drawing the redhead's attention to the rest of them. "Wait, you guys knew too?!"

"Well, yeah." Olaf said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, while Sven and Marshmallow simply nodded.

Anna groaned and buried her face in the crook of Elsa's neck. The blonde – who was sat silently, her expression somewhere between shocked and amused – gave the redhead a reassuring pat on the back.

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Olaf cheered, shooting up to pull the two into a hug.

* * *

The group continued their night normally after that – bar Kristoff's teasing – playing board games until it was time to retire.

Anna and Elsa walked to their rooms in a comfortable silence, holding hands as they went. Usually the one to dominate the conversation, Anna was contemplative. But, as they arrived at Anna's door, she spoke.

"Elsa, I..." she trailed off, unsure how to breach the subject.

Alarmed by her severe tone, Elsa turned fully towards the redhead, grasping both of her hands. "What's wrong, Anna?" She asked softly.

Without speaking, Anna opened her door and pulled Elsa in. Shutting the door behind them, she led them both to sit on the bed. They sat cross-legged, hands linked between them.

They sat for a few moments in silence, Elsa waiting patiently for Anna to say what she needed to say. Then, without warning, Anna let go of her hands and pulled the blonde into a tight hug.

"I was so afraid, Elsa... I though one of us was going to die, I thought..." Elsa could feel the redhead's tears on her shoulder. "If you weren't there today, I would have died."

"Hey," Elsa reprimanded softly, "you're okay; we look after each other, right? That's what partners are for." Anna was usually so unshakable, but the events of the day had clearly gotten to her.

"My last partner was killed by a behemoth, a few months before you arrived. He was kinda rude, and really cocky but he was sorta like an older brother, you know?" Anna sniffed. "Fighting a behemoth again reminded me of it and I couldn't shake the felling that one of us might not..." Anna's voice caught in her throat.

Not knowing what to say, Elsa simply held her as her tears subsided. Eventually, Anna pulled back, giving the blonde a small smile.

"Thank you, Elsa, I think I just needed to get that out of my system."

Elsa smiled back sheepishly, "Anytime, Anna. I'm just sorry I couldn't be more... reassuring."

Anna's teal eyes – still puffy from crying – shone with affection. "You were perfect."

A moment passed before Anna spoke again, "Elsa?" The redhead fidgeted. "Would you... stay with me tonight? I'm not sure I want to be alone..."

Elsa kissed her softly on the lips.

"Of course."

After getting ready for bed, the two held each other, falling into a peaceful slumber in each other's arms.

* * *

 _Well, I kinda feel like that ended rather abruptly, but I didn't know how else to end it. I hope you liked it despite that and - though I feel like parts of this story were shorter or less fleshed out than they should have been - I'm still happy that I could put this story out into the world and prove to myself that I can start writing and finish a story; hopefully that will give me more confidence in writing in the future._

 _Anyways, thank you for reading this story and thank you for any reviews or favourites or follows or even views you may have contributed to, it's made me happy to know that people have even considered reading this story. I'd love to hear if you thought it was any good or not and I hope to see you again should I write anything else in the future._


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